Rose Chea, from left, Bopha Lim, Mara Lieng and Joel Cezares pray in a remembrance of the genocide under the Khmer Rouge following the downfall of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. ANA VENEGAS, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Nancy Seng, Khonthach Tep, Mouykea Hor, and Kieng Seng. pray in a remembrance of the genocide under the Khmer Rouge following the downfall of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. The commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the fall took place at the Cambodian Family, the oldest social service provider in Orange County. ANA VENEGAS, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Rose Chea, from left, Bopha Lim, Mara Lieng pray in a remembrance of the genocide under the Khmer Rouge following the downfall of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. The commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the fall took place at the Cambodian Family, the oldest social service provider in Orange County. ANA VENEGAS, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Phalen Lim, from left, Kieng Seng, Sophier Lor and Nancy Seng light candles a remembrance of the genocide under the Khmer Rouge following the downfall of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. The commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the fall took place at the Cambodian Family, the oldest social service provider in Orange County. ANA VENEGAS, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rose Chea, from left, Bopha Lim, Mara Lieng and Joel Cezares pray in a remembrance of the genocide under the Khmer Rouge following the downfall of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975. ANA VENEGAS, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

SANTA ANA – On Friday, about 25 members of the Orange County Cambodian community met to pray and offer respects to the souls of their ancestors who were victims of genocide.

Friday marked the 40th anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to the communist Khmer Rouge and the onset of the Killing Fields genocide between 1975 and 1979 that left about 2 million dead from executions, torture, starvation and disease.

Nee Luos, 59, of Santa Ana, still bears the physical and emotional scars of the Pol Pot regime.

Through translation and tears Luos said she would “never forget until she dies” the trauma of those years.

However, she acknowledged it was important to commemorate dates like April 17.

A small ceremony was held outdoors at the Cambodian Family headquarters where organizers erected a makeshift Buddhist shrine. Those in attendance lit incense and then took part in a prayer and chanting designed, as a organizer said, “to help the souls (of the dead) be free.”

“This is about how many people we expected,” said Phalen Lim, executive director of Cambodian Family. “It’s a comfortable number. We wanted to keep it personal.”

After the ceremony, elders gathered for a potluck meal that consisted of curry, a noodle dish called bansung with fish sauce and coconut milk, salad called nyo am, and other dishes.

Later in the day, in Long Beach, which has the largest Cambodian population in the United States, a larger group met in Bixby Knolls for a commemorative event.

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